MAC members,
This is an issue that generated a considerable amount of discussion among
the officers of the Society of Professional Journalists. As a member of the
SPJ Education Committee, I reviewed the articles at issue and some of the
debate as we are deciding how to respond as an organization.
The sticking point here is how to remain steadfast in defending students'
First Amendment rights while reminding the students of the ETHICAL manner in
which real journalists should operate. The SPJ Convention is next week
and I suspect this matter will come up-- perhaps even in the form of a
resolution.
As is always the challenge with convention planning 9 months in advance, by
next August, this particular incident may have resolved itself... depending
on what happens to the editor and/or a new editor takes over next year. I
think Diana's question goes more to the role of the status of the
publication adviser-editor relationship.. How much training/teaching is
going on in the area of diversity/cultural sensitivity? When I was at
Georgia a few years ago, I used to conduct a diversity session at the
national workshop for college newspaper editors. I'm not sure if they still
offer that session.
Given the Ethical concerns, this panel would seem like something MAC could
co-sponsor with the Ethics Division.
George Daniels
U. Alabama
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stringer, Sharon" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 12:58 PM
Subject: Re: Teaching Panel Possibiltiy-- Campus newspaper--racism,
misogynism
> Sounds like a good panel discussion. I just finished speaking with Karlo
> Ruiz, public information officer with the State of Connecticut Latino &
> Puerto Rican Affairs Commission. He's an alum visiting campus today. He
> says that his office is fighting this issue in Connecticut. I might can
> get him to Chicago, if anyone is interested in organizing a panel.
>
> Sharon B. Stringer, Ph.D.
> Associate Professor Journalism and Mass Comm
> Lock Haven University
> 603 Robinson Bldg.
> Lock Haven, PA 17745
> 570-484-2092
> 570-484-2436 (fax)
>
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: FOR THE MINORITIES AND COMMUNICATION DIV. OF AEJMC
> [mailto:[log in to unmask]] On Behalf Of Rios, Diana
> Sent: Monday, September 24, 2007 1:18 PM
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Teaching Panel Possibiltiy-- Campus newspaper--racism, misogynism
>
> Absolutely. This is a great topic for someone to take off with and create
> a panel proposal. This could be a Teaching Panel for some interested
> people.
> Here are some possible titles--
> "Campus News, Radio, TV: Freedom of Expression or Racism-Misgynism?"
> "Campus News, Radio, TV: If we hate you, we have the right to say it"
> "The Future of Student Media: The Dark and Enlightened Sides of Freedom of
> Expression"
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Meta G. Carstarphen [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Mon 9/24/2007 12:55 PM
> To: Rios, Diana
> Cc: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Campus newspaper--racism, misogynism
>
> Thanks, Diana.
>
> Maybe the topic of campus newspapers (and radio & TV) should be a topic
> for a panel proposal.
>
> Meta
> Meta G. Carstarphen, Ph.D., APR
> Gaylord Family Endowed Professor &
> Associate Professor
> Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication University of
> Oklahoma
> 395 W. Lindsey Room 3510C
> Norman, OK 73019-4201
> PHONE: (405) 325-5227
> FAX: (405) 325-7565
> E-MAIL: [log in to unmask]
> ************************************
>
>
>
> On Sep 23, 2007, at 10:29 AM, Rios, Diana wrote:
>
>> We should be aware of the lack of ethics, lack of common sense, the
>> racism and misogynism at this campus newspaper at Central Connecticut
>> State University.
>> This makes us ask the question, How are our campus newspapers doing?
>> Sincerely,
>> Dr. Diana I. Rios
>> Associate Prof. of Communication Sciences and Institute for PRLS
>> Dept. Communication Sciences, U-1085 University of Connecticut Storrs,
>> CT 06269
>> 860-486-3187
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------
>>
>> PLEASE SEND LETTERS. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT
>> courant.com/news/opinion/columnists/hc-
>> reyna0921.artsep21,0,7243759.column
>> Courant.com
>> Tolerating A Climate Of Hostility
>> Bessy Reyna
>> September 21, 2007
>> Publication of a racist and misogynistic cartoon depicting a 14-
>> year-old Latina, hungry, bound, locked in a closet and apparently
>> being urinated upon casts a pall across the celebration of Hispanic
>> History Month in Connecticut.
>>
>> Printed by the Central Connecticut State University student paper, The
>> Recorder, the cartoon has caused an understandable uproar on campus
>> and off. Is CCSU teaching its students to be tolerant of those who
>> make fun of victims or humiliate and belittle others because of their
>> ethnicity or gender? I wonder. This is the same paper - under Editor
>> in Chief Mark Rowan - that caused an outrage on campus last winter
>> with the publication of a piece suggesting that a rape could be a
>> "magical experience" for an ugly woman.
>>
>> At that time, the CCSU administration's response was to create a Task
>> Force on Journalistic Integrity and "sensitize" Rowan by having him
>> join. Obviously, that effort has failed. Rowan and his staff published
>> this cartoon, which is not only intrinsically hateful toward Latinos
>> and women, but also features the commission of crimes including risk
>> of injury to a minor, assault and unlawful restraint. I'm sure they
>> thought that their addition of a disclaimer beneath the cartoon - "The
>> Recorder does not support the kidnapping of (and subsequent urinating
>> on) children of any age or ethnicity" - was a clever and funny jab at
>> the task force.
>>
>> One highly disturbing element is how little the students at the
>> newspaper seem to care about the fact that hate crimes against women
>> and minorities are an extremely serious social issue. One that we need
>> to deal with as a society, not make fun of.
>>
>> I couldn't help but think about Megan Williams, the 20-year-old
>> African American woman, who recently was found after being locked up
>> and brutally tortured by six people in West Virginia, or the 14-
>> year-old runaway from Bloomfield who was found a year later locked in
>> a small closet in a West Hartford house.
>>
>> The publication of this cartoon seems to be a symptom of a much bigger
>> problem at CCSU. The response by university President Jack Miller
>> leaves much to be desired. He wrote that the cartoon "demonstrates
>> [the students'] lack of understanding of how words can hurt and of how
>> their editorial decisions to publish deeply offensive materials can
>> undermine the civility that should bring us together as a campus
>> community." Miller sounds like a disappointed father, not the leader a
>> college president should be. He is only now, in the face of more
>> controversy, recommending implementation of some of the proposals that
>> were presented last May by the task force on journalism.
>>
>> In a letter to the CCSU community, Professor Serafín Méndez-Méndez,
>> chairman of the communication department and a member of the task
>> force, said that Miller has exhibited poor leadership by failing to
>> create an inclusive and tolerant environment for women, African
>> Americans, Latinos, gays and others.
>>
>> Psychology Professor Francisco Donis, president of the Latin American
>> Association at CCSU, told me the problem is a climate that fosters
>> such obnoxious behavior. Underrepresented groups on campus feel
>> threatened and unwelcome. He noted that "CCSU is the only CSU
>> [Connecticut State University{rcub} campus without Latino
>> representation in the administration or at the dean level."
>>
>> Miller should consider that the lack of Latino administrators and
>> deans in his administration demonstrates his lack of understanding of
>> how invisibility can hurt and of how hiring decisions can undermine
>> the civility that should bring a campus community together.
>>
>> This year, Connecticut citizens observing Hispanic History Month
>> should celebrate the Latino students at CCSU and their counterparts
>> throughout the country for having the strength and fortitude to
>> continue to strive for an education in the face of such hostility and
>> harassment.
>>
>> Bessy Reyna is a free-lance writer whose column appears the third
>> Friday of every month. To leave her a comment in English or Spanish,
>> please call 860-241-3165. Or e-mail her at [log in to unmask]
>> Copyright © 2007, The Hartford Courant
>>
>>
>> Bessy Reyna
>> www.bessyreyna.com
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